STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Vedanta leads falls in miners

Shares in Vedanta Resources (VED.L) shed 3.5 percent tracking falls in metals prices as risk aversion intensifies ahead of key central bank policy decisions, while the company's first-half results fail to excite.

Mining stocks on the FTSE 100 .FTSE fall as metals prices retreat ahead of policy decisions from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank later in the session.

Vedanta posts a 44 percent fall in first-half earnings per share, while EBITDA falls 41 percent and revenue declines 25 percent.

"Vedanta reported 1H10 results that were slightly below our forecasts," analysts at Nomura write in a note, while keeping its "neutral" rating on the stock and target price of 1,950 pence.

Within the sector, Lonmin (LMI.L), Xstrata (XTA.L), Anglo American (AAL.L) and BHP Billiton (BLT.L) drop 1.7 to 2.3 percent.

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